The Skanner News - Ed Dwight Was to Be the First Black Astronaut. At 90, He's Finally Getting His Due

It wasn’t until 1983 that the first African American, Guion Bluford, reached space. But two decades earlier, Ed Dwight found himself at a fulcrum of 20th Century American history, where the space race and the struggle for social justice converged. An accomplished Air Force pilot, Dwight was groomed by John F. Kennedy's White House to be the first Black astronaut. But in training, he faced discrimination that detoured his path. In recent years, Dwight's story has received renewed attention. Now 90, he's widely celebrated as a pioneer to all of the Black astronauts that followed him.

Related Keywords

Ohio ,United States ,Edwards Air Force Base ,California ,Germany ,Russia ,White House ,District Of Columbia ,University Of Denver ,Colorado ,Denver ,Kansas ,Washington ,American ,America ,Soviet ,Americans ,Ed Andrieski ,Duke Ellington ,Johnf Kennedy White ,Chuck Yeager ,Lisa Cort ,Louis Armstrong ,Bobby Kennedy ,Guion Bluford ,Bernard Harris ,Ed Dwight ,Barack Obama ,National Geographic Channel ,Ryan Dearth National Geographic ,Courtesy Of Ed Dwight National Geographic ,Aerospace Research Pilot School ,Edwards Air Force ,Us Air Force Capt ,National Geographic ,Disney ,First Black ,Finally Getting His ,Space Race ,Air Force ,President John ,Right Stuff ,African American ,Century America ,Soviet Union ,Cold War ,Mercury Seven ,Fine Arts ,Black History ,Black Astronaut ,Space ,Jfk ,Johnf Kennedy ,Victor Glover ,Nasa ,